


i could wait forever (until the river runs dry)

by hotlinehaechan



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Falling In Love, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Haikyuu Week, KageHina Week, KuroKen - Freeform, KuroKen Week 2020, Light Angst, M/M, Mentioned Hinata Shouyou, Mentioned Kagehina in the bonus, Nekoma, POV Kozume Kenma, POV Kuroo Tetsurou, Picnic, YouTuber Kozume Kenma, haikyuu!! - Freeform, light sadness but not angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-19 00:54:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29991432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hotlinehaechan/pseuds/hotlinehaechan
Summary: kenma hates impermanence. it keeps you on your toes, never comfortable enough to relax. but, he wonders from october into december, when something temporary could make you happier than anything else, is it really such a price to pay?
Relationships: Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou
Comments: 13
Kudos: 47





	i could wait forever (until the river runs dry)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sunnynana](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunnynana/gifts).



> hiii thank you for clicking on this!! this story was my first time writing kuroken and i really enjoyed it! i have a lot of ideas for these two, so stay tuned if you enjoy and expect more haikyu writing from me!:) without further ado, i hope u like this story!! :>
> 
> ps!! my twitter is hibernatechan!!

The first time Kuroo pitched the idea to Kenma was in the fall of Kenma’s second year at Nekoma.

The two were sitting in Kenma’s room on a typical Monday afternoon in early October. Kenma played his newest game on his switch, waiting for Kuroo to finish his homework so he could get his regular tutor sessions with the older boy.

“Kenma,” Kuroo spoke up suddenly, swiveling his chair around to face his two-toned friend, “Could I ask you something?”

“Uh huh,” Kenma had hummed back from his bed, submerged in his game of Splatoon 2. His short response would have sounded uninterested to anyone else, but Kuroo knew that’s just how Kenma was.

“So..” Kuroo began, swallowing his nervousness, “Can I.. take you on a date sometime? Just us?” he asked. Getting it out of his brain felt like a breath of fresh air. Although he’d thought long and hard about how to ask Kenma this, he went with the blueprint way in the end. He needed to make sure Kenma knew he wasn’t kidding. 

Kenma briefly glanced up at the third year. He didn’t have the surprised reaction Kuroo expected. He didn’t seem to have any sort of reaction at all.  _ At least he doesn’t hate me,  _ Kuroo frantically thought to himself, trying to come up with any sort of explanation for Kenma’s neutrality.

“Oh.. Why?” He asked simply. His eyes stuck back to his switch screen as he tilted it for more leverage in his game. 

Kuroo had to hide his shock at the question.  _ Why? _ How is he supposed to answer that?  _ Because I’ve been in love with you since I was 10? _ It felt like a bit much, especially before their first date that might not ever happen.

His mouth hung open for a second as he grasped for something to say —  _ anything. _ “Because.. Because I.. care for you. In a different way.. um..” He swallowed again. “So.. is that a no?”

“No,” Kenma answered honestly, “it isn’t..” He sat his switch down for a second, biting the inside of his cheek in thought. “Can I think about it?” he’d requested earnestly, and Kuroo nodded quickly.

“Of course,” he assured, before he remembered his question from before. “You.. aren’t surprised?”

Kenma shook his head. “No. Not really.” And that was that.

2 months flew by, and Kenma didn’t mention it. 

Kuroo knew he hadn’t forgotten, though. Kenma was far too meticulous for that. He was just thinking, and Kuroo would wait.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The second time Kuroo brought up the subject was a week or so before Christmas. 

The two boys were walking home after school, the cold biting at their cheeks and noses until they turned red. Kenma’s especially, who resorted to burying his rosy face in a peach colored scarf. Kuroo smiled fondly at the second year, who shivered beneath his scarf and jacket.

“You’re going to catch a cold like that— what’d you say we get ramen?” Kuroo asked, shoving his hands into his pockets. Kenma peered at Kuroo over the top of his scarf.

“Like a date?” he asked plainly.

“ _ No!” _ Kuroo blurted out immediately, “I didn’t say that!”

Kenma chuckled. His mouth was covered, but Kuroo could see it in the way his eyes curved into crescents. “I’m just kidding. Let’s go. My treat?”

“Mmm.. We’ll see about that.” Kuroo grinned mischievously before breaking out into a run towards the closest ramen shop. Another laugh erupted from Kenma, a little louder this time. He hated running, but he chased after Kuroo all the way to the ramen shop. 

\-----------------------------------

As they sat in the slightly warmer ramen shop slurping their noodles, Kuroo glanced over at Kenma. His mind was flooded with queries he had for the younger boy, but he wasn’t sure if now was the right time to ask them, or if there would ever even  _ be _ a right time. He took a deep breath, exhaling out his worries.

“Kenma?”

“Hmm?” Kenma hummed, lifting a few noodles up to his mouth.

“Do you… Do you still remember what I asked you back in October? Right after you got Splatoon?”

“If I wanted to go on a date with you? Of course I remember.” Kenma paused to chew his noodles. “You’re.. wondering why I never said anything... Can we talk about this at home? The cold makes it hard to think.”

Kuroo agreed easily. He wondered if that was really true— if the cold really did make it difficult for Kenma to think, or if he wanted time to think up a way to turn him down. 

He went back to eating his own ramen, chopsticks trembling just slightly. Electricity jumped between his fingertips, and his jacket was 100 degrees too warm. He took it off before he got dizzy.

Kenma didn’t seem to notice the change. All the same, Kuroo was sure he wouldn’t have spoken up even if he did. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By the time the two had returned to the warmth of Kenma’s room, Kuroo had prepared himself for his rejection. He held loosely onto what sliver of hope he had left, and he would never let Kenma see it, but he dreaded the impending conversation. He absently wished he’d been dealt his refusal when he asked for the first time in October, or when they spent Halloween night together, or even when their families had a joint Thanksgiving, or anytime in-between. What an unfortunate way to spend his fall and winter season, Kuroo reminisced, wishing for nothing more than to be with Kenma.

Their trek back to Kenma’s had been rather uneventful. It started to snow during their walk, and Kenma had pulled down his scarf to stick his tongue out, hoping to catch a snowflake or two. He looked so cute that Kuroo couldn’t help but smile. Kenma had even laughed when snowflakes landed in Kuroo’s eyes. As much as Kuroo loved to hear the laugh he adored, it only made his heart ache. Neither of them mentioned Kuroo’s question on the walk.

Back in Kenma’s room, Kuroo sat in the chair at the second year’s desk, lounging on it backwards. Despite his attempts at hiding it, his nerves were evident in the way he picked at the scratchy fabric of the chair. Kenma, supposedly preoccupied with hanging his scarf up in his closet, took note of the quiet scraping noise. 

“You know, Kuroo,” he uttered rather quietly, twisting his scarf around itself, “I didn’t not answer because I  _ don’t  _ care for you that way.”

Kuroo processed this for a few seconds, his face twisting in confusion. “.. _ What?”  _ As it seemed, Kenma’s low voice paired with three negatives in one sentence was too convoluted, even for someone who memorized the periodic table for fun.

Kenma let out a breath that Kuroo assumed was a silent chuckle. “I just mean...” he left his scarf on its designated hook and sat on his bed, across from Kuroo’s chair. “I do care for you.. that way. But.. it’s just that..” he sighed quietly. “Sorry.. this is hard.” 

Kuroo nodded, finding himself unable to do much else. “Take.. Take your time,” he assured his crush. He couldn’t believe his ears, but even if Kenma had admitted what the third year had always wished to hear, there was always a catch. And as if the storm were resuming after the calm, Kenma nodded and went on.

“I… think it’s hard for me to.. get into anything.. like that,” he admitted, before pausing for a few passing moments. Kuroo could tell he was choosing his words extra carefully, and he would patiently wait until he’d found the right ones. “I do.. care for you.. more than this. Which.. is another reason why this won’t work.” He glanced up at Kuroo, an unreadable emotion written on his face.

Just as if the water had been pulling back from the beach all this time, the tsunami wave hit Kuroo all at once. “W-wait, Kenma..” he trailed off, feeling more confused than ever. Kuroo felt himself being picked up by the big wave, heartache washing over him. No amount of preparation would have prepared him to truly hear it from Kenma— that anything between them would never work. But in the same moment, he realized that Kenma had voiced that he  _ did _ feel that way for him. Kuroo’s feelings were reciprocated. Relief, and heartache and confusion swarmed him all at once, and he felt himself begin to sink underwater.

“There’s a reason, though,” Kenma started to say again, averting his eyes. Kuroo was sure he looked hopeless. He had never been good at hiding his emotions, never from Kenma. “I have trouble sometimes.. with.. temporary things.” He fidgeted with the ends of his sleeves, pulling them over his hands. “I don’t know how else to say it,” he admitted, seemingly both to himself and to Kuroo.

Kuroo subconsciously furrowed his eyebrows, determined to understand the two-toned boy.  _ Temporary.. The way a relationship could be temporary? _ he wondered to himself,  _ But in that way, couldn’t everything be? _

“Um, Kenma?”

“Uh huh?” The second year still didn’t meet Kuroo’s gaze. He wore a sort of defeated look, one that Kuroo knew far too well. He didn’t know how to express what he felt.

“When you say temporary.. What do you mean? Is.. is everything not temporary?” Kuroo tried to be as gentle as he could with his questions. He knew assumptions and interpretations were what Kenma needed to expand on his feelings, but he was afraid to misunderstand the other boy. This was the most sensitive part of Kenma, and Kuroo didn’t want him to close off again.

Kenma shook his head, his defeated look being replaced by a thoughtful one. “It is. That’s.. I think that’s the problem. Knowing that everything will eventually end..” He shrugged. “It makes it all seem pointless..” An understanding silence hung in the air for a moment. “About what I mean.. I guess it’s just.. I want to.. to do that with you.” He sighed.

“But I have a hard time saying yes.. Because it feels like.. Maybe it’ll be the best thing ever.” He glanced back up at Kuroo for a moment, who was watching and listening to him intently, before turning his gaze back off to the side. “But it‘ll all be for nothing in the end.” He sighed after he finally said it, as if verbalizing his worries released a weight from his chest, and he let it sit heavily in the room for a moment.

“A lot of the time, I think,” he went on, to Kuroo’s surprise. He didn’t dare interrupt; He wanted every worry and stress Kenma had about the situation to be out in the air, rather than tangled up in the younger boy’s brain. “that you should ask someone else. Or just.. care for someone else.” His defeated look returned. “..Someone who won’t leave you hanging for months... I’m sorry, Kuroo. I should have said something,” he finished in his low voice. He met Kuroo’s eyes, finally holding their gaze.

Kenma’s eyes were full of regret, and it made Kuroo’s heart ache.

“Kenma.. I.. I didn’t know you felt that way..” Kuroo said the first thing his brain could formulate, but felt like there was much more he needed to say. So much more. “First off.. I don’t want to care for anyone else. I only care for you that way, and that’s all I ever want it to be. I don’t want to ask anyone else.” Kenma’s gaze softened, and he brought up a hand to play with the drawstring of his hoodie.

“And I’m.. I’m sorry you feel like everything is pointless. Why you feel that way makes sense.” He paused to take a deep breath, forming his next sentences. Kenma just watched him, read to absorb whatever wisdom Kuroo was about to give to him.

“I wish I could— Here, the way I see it.. is that, everything  _ is  _ temporary, right? We’re gonna die, nothing is ever gonna be how it is right now ever again.” Kuroo licked his lips, resting his chin on top of his intertwined hands. His elbows rested on the back of the chair he sat on, and his eyes scanned the room as he spoke. “But think of.. all the times in the past, before you had something that’s so important to you now. That thing will be gone when you die, or maybe before then, but you wouldn’t go back to how things were before you had it just because of that, would you?”

Kenma thought of Kuroo immediately. It felt as if something clicked in his brain.  _ That makes sense,  _ he thought, amazed at the way Kuroo’s mind worked. His worries were quick to try to poke holes in the new idea, but Kenma shook his head, as if to shoo them away.

“No.. I wouldn’t..” The second-year murmured.

“Hmm.. Good, then. I also feel like, if it’s something that you enjoy, or that makes you happy, Kenma,” Kuroo said, catching the other’s eyes once again, “then you should try to do everything you can to get it and appreciate it while you can. It might end up being worse to never try at all.” The two held their eye contact for a moment as Kuroo’s advice oxidized. “That’s what I think, anyway,” he added at the end, offering Kenma an encouraging smile.

“.. Thank you. That helps a lot,” Kenma bashfully muttered.

“Of course,” Kuroo replied, smiling fully now. “Oh, and Kenma?”

“Huh?” Kenma hummed.

“You can take as long as you need. I could wait forever. Just.. know that.”

\-----------------------------

“Kuroo,” Kenma said, meaning to get the taller boy’s attention as he held his phone sideways, prepared to take a picture of them. Kuroo set his soda down before raising his eyebrows and smiling cheekily for Kenma’s picture, while the latter wore his regular coy look as he stuck out his tongue. The two sat on a picnic blanket beneath a cherry blossom tree, enjoying a peaceful lunch in late April. Cherry blossoms fell all around them, and even if Kenma wasn’t overly fond of the outdoors, he had to agree that it was nice. 

“Ew..” Kenma joked, and Kuroo hardly got in a “Ew,  _ you _ —” before Kenma snapped the photo of them, immediately snickering at the offended look the photo captured on the older boy’s face. 

“You look so insulted.” The two-toned boy laughed, taking a second look while making an effort to angle his phone away from Kuroo, who was desperate to see what Kenma thought was such a funny picture.

“Let me see!”

“Mm-mm,” Kenma shook his head, grinning while he tapped the corner of his screen, and Kuroo knew he had already saved the photo. A minute or two of squabbling, laughing and complaining between the two ended with Kuroo holding Kenma’s phone in the air, just out of his reach. Kenma reached for it with minimal effort, whining and complaining anyway.

“Asshole,” he mumbled loud enough so that Kuroo could hear, but it was obvious that he wasn’t serious.

He eventually gave up, sitting complicit on their picnic blanket with a disgruntled look on his face. Kuroo, who apparently thought this was the funniest thing in the world, opened Kenma’s Instagram story and took a picture from the highest angle he could reach, of him doing the other boy’s signature pose— a peace sign and tongue out— with Kenma sitting on the checkered picnic blanket behind and below him, somewhat resembling an angry feline.

Kuroo let out a breathy laugh, saving the photo and finally handing Kenma’s phone back to its owner. He had planned to post it, but even he wasn’t that cruel.

“ _ I  _ think you look cute when you’re mad,” Kuroo declared with a sneer as he sat back down next to Kenma, who only offered him an eyeroll and a light smack on the shoulder. 

This behavior was more common between them these days. Ever since Kenma opened up last December, things have been different for them — in a good way, that is. A few days after their talk, Kenma came to Kuroo and bashfully told him that yes, he did want to go on a date. But not without warning him first that maybe nothing will come of it. Kuroo didn’t mind that, not one bit.

They’ve been going on dates often since then. The word “friend” didn’t come quite as easily to them anymore, but nothing came to take its place just yet. As he thought of this, Kuroo gazed fondly at his two-toned second year.

Suspicious is the only thing Kuroo could call the way Kenma made an effort to angle his phone away from the other boy as he quickly typed and deleted, and typed again, before Kuroo couldn’t even make a guess as to what he was doing. The third year instinctively felt a stab of jealousy with the assumption that Kenma was texting someone else, but he felt silly for it almost just as fast.

_ What does it matter if he’s texting someone else anyway? _ he wondered to himself,  _ It’s not like I’m his boyfriend or something. And even if I was, I wouldn’t control him _ — _ it really sounded like that, but I’m not _ —

Kuroo’s train of thought veered off its rails when Kenma all of a sudden locked his phone and set it down on the blanket.

“No more of your antics now,” Kenma remarked, fueling Kuroo’s previously quenched want for retaliation.

“ _ My _ antics?  _ Please, _ ” he replied, and Kenma rolled his eyes again. The two boys fell into their typical shenanigans and managed to finish their lunch without another quarrel.

Surprisingly enough, it was Kenma who suggested they take a walk.

“Are you feeling okay?” Kuroo questioned immediately, reaching up to press a hand to Kenma’s forehead, only for it to be smacked away.

“I thought it would be nice,” Kenma protested as he stood up and wiped off his hoodie. “We’re already at the park anyway and the cherry blossoms are just now in bloom. It’s pretty.”

“Cute,” Kuroo commented absentmindedly before answering properly, “Sure, why not?” He stood up as well, and he could have sworn he saw Kenma swallow nervously, but his eyes could have just as easily been playing tricks on him. 

They cleaned up what could be thrown away from their picnic, and folded up their blanket, tucking their remaining items inside of it. After Kenma pitched the idea, Kuroo set it on the highest branch he could reach of the tree whose blossoms had been falling on them during lunch.

The second and third year set off on the main sidewalk, which careened through the cherry blossom trees and even included a river with a fancy bridge to cross it. Kuroo had managed to catch Kenma’s hand at some point soon after the beginning of their walk — Kenma wasn’t even quite sure how it had happened, but the unofficial couple walked with entwined hands through the falling cherry blossoms. Neither of them addressed the hand holding — in fact, it wasn’t uncommon between them these days.

Kuroo and Kenma fell into a comfortable silence for a few minutes, both of them content walking in the April breeze and satisfied with the beautiful scenery. Kuroo noticed Kenma on his phone for a moment, as they approached the fancy bridge, but this time, he didn’t spare the sight an extra thought.

After typing vigorously one-handed for a moment, Kenma slipped his phone back into his pocket and stopped walking altogether, enamoured by the view of the nearly clear river over the metal railing of the bridge.

“Woah, Kuroo, come look,” Kenma mumbled, standing in front of the railing and peering over at his reflection in the water. The second year watched his face ripple, disturbed by the flipping tail of a koi fish. Kuroo joined him at the railing after a moment. He, too, was easily mesmerized by the pair of faces staring back at them with wonder.

“The water is so clear,” Kuroo said, stating the obvious.

“Uh huh,” Kenma hummed back, too infatuated with the wonder of the river to make fun of Kuroo for earning the title of Captain Obvious.

Kuroo’s phone buzzed all of a sudden — though, Kuroo supposed there wasn’t really any time when a notification  _ wouldn’t _ be sudden. Reluctant to take his eyes off of this rare side of Kenma, he didn’t act on the notification until enough time for it to buzz again had passed. He mentally groaned, pulling his phone out of his pocket to see a notification from Hinata — Karasuno’s number 10, of all people in the world.

_ hey kuroo!!! look at kenma’s story real quick :> _ Hinata had written.

_ That’s odd, _ Kuroo thought as he unlocked his phone to open Instagram,  _ What could Kenma have posted? And why does  _ Hinata _ think I need to see it? _

Sure enough, Kenma’s profile picture with a green circle around it popped up first. _ Close friends story, _ the third year thought to himself. He spared a glance at real-life Kenma, who was still occupied with watching the koi fish dart around in the water. He pressed said profile picture, and the picture Kuroo had taken earlier while impersonating Kenma popped up, with a caption that simply said  _ “He’s so annoying”. _ The caption was so Kenma-like that a smile tugged at Kuroo’s lips. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary at first, and Kuroo considered asking Hinata about his request before he saw it— the red box of text color-matched to blend into Kuroo’s shirt.

“ _ P.S. _ ” it said, “ _ be my boyfriend? _ ”

Kuroo felt like his heart was going to stop, if it hadn’t already. His wide eyes immediately shot back up to look at Kenma, who rested his cheek in the palm of his hand, elbow sitting atop the railing, completely nonchalantly enjoying the breeze. He didn’t know what to do, or say, or how to bring it up to Kenma. Most of all, though, he didn’t know how or when or  _ anything _ about the way to ask Kenma how he knew their impermanence would be worth it.

He composed himself.  _ Cool, calm, and collected gets the job done, _ the third year assured. Kuroo rested his elbows on the railing, too, and his face in his hands, doing his best to act as if everything was normal.

_ Fuck,  _ he realized all at once,  _ Kenma knows I checked my phone. He’s gonna be waiting. Just say something! _ Kuroo figured anything was better than nothing, and went for it.

“Kenma?” He swallowed nervously, refusing to look over at the shorter boy.

“Hmm?”

“I saw your story.” Kuroo finally gave in, glancing over at his two-toned boy, who was already looking back at him.

“Oh yeah?” Kenma asked, turning to face Kuroo, elbow still resting on the railing.

“Well..” Kuroo began, nodding his head towards Kenma and using it as an excuse to close some of the empty space between them. His heart beat so fast that it threatened to shatter his ribcage. “Of course I’ll be your boyfriend. I — I  _ seriously  _ thought you’d never ask me.”

Kenma smiled adoringly, eyes gazing comfortably at Kuroo. He  _ really _ looked cute like this, Kuroo decided — holding his face up with his hands and a smile on his face.

“I hoped you’d say that,” Kenma said with a smile. He stopped holding up his own face to rest both his forearms atop the railing instead, still hunched over.

The spiky-haired third year was only half listening, as the other half of him was focused on closing the last bit of extra space between them and cupping Kenma’s face himself. Kuroo’s nerves were so overwhelming that he felt as if he couldn’t see, but Kenma blushing was a rare enough sight that Kuroo wouldn’t have missed it for the world. 

The two’s faces were close enough that Kuroo could feel Kenma exhale his slightly shaky breaths. Kenma’s gaze darted between Kuroos’ eyes, like he couldn’t decide where to look. Finally, it seemed, at Kuroo’s lips was the spot he chose. 

To Kuroo, their few close seconds felt like an eternity, and all he wanted to do was kiss the boy he’d wanted to be with for as long as he could remember. He turned his head and leaned in, leaving just enough space to whisper, “Can I?” 

Kenma nodded without hesitation, and Kuroo kissed him. Kuroo felt the same nervous-feeling bursts of electricity in his fingers from the ramen shop, but instead, they shocked him everywhere. He felt like the birds were singing among the falling cherry blossoms and the koi fish were flitting in the perfectly clear water, and the stars had aligned just right for those two to have this moment. Kuroo didn’t want to move until the river ran dry — until it had been eternities since colorful fish danced beneath the surface, and maybe not even then.

Their moment wouldn’t last forever — they knew that, of course. But when they pulled away and Kenma had never felt himself smile so bright, or have a heart so full, he thought that maybe it didn’t really matter. And when they leaned in again, standing up straight and properly this time, Kenma was sure; he didn’t need this to be forever. Just once would have been enough.

  
  
  
  
  


**Bonus:** (not detrimental to the plot!! just a little extra snippet ;P) 

“How.. did you two..get together?” Kenma read from his desktop screen, squinting at the tiny bright words against the dark of the rest of the room. Kuroo, who sat next to the streamer, laughed.

“That was so long ago,” he remarked, making eye contact with his two-toned boyfriend. Two-toned might have been a little generous — Kenma’s blonde had almost grown all the way out. He’d mentioned to Kuroo that he had plans to re-bleach it all soon, though. “It’s been like, 3 years.”

“Mhm,” Kenma hummed, “Do you remember how it happened?”

“Of  _ course _ I do,” Kuroo huffed, “I’m not an  _ awful _ boyfriend.” Kenma snickered at his intense reaction.

“What’s so _ funny, Kyanma? _ ” Kuroo teased with a grin, before suddenly jumping at Kenma and tickling his sides. Kenma shrieked with laughter, pleading with Kuroo to stop until the older of the two finally chose mercy. He sat back in his chair, grinning at Kenma, who only scowled back at him. Despite how angry he looked, a smile still tugged at the corners of his mouth. 

Kenma turned back towards his computer screen, having forgotten all about their stream. He glanced at the chat and saw that it was filled with comments about how cute him and Kuroo were together — his fans had always enjoyed when he brought Kuroo on streams.

“Can I  _ tell _ our dating story now?” Kenma asked accusingly, but the fond look on his face told Kuroo he was only kidding.

“I  _ guess..”  _ Kuroo replied sarcastically.

“So.. basically what happened was that Kuroo and I went on this picnic-date thing when I was 17 and he was 18. We took this picture together and I captioned it, like, ‘Be my boyfriend?’ or something cheesy like that and posted it on my close friends story.” Kenma looked over at Kuroo, smiling while he practically made heart eyes at his boyfriend. “We went on a walk after that and I was like, so nervous. I remember just wondering when he’s finally gonna see the post and— by the way, I did all of that just so I wouldn’t have to ask him out loud.” Both Kenma and Kuroo chuckled at that. “I was too scared.”

“Cute,” Kuroo remarked.

“Stop it” the streamer said, covering his smile with one hand before continuing with his story. “And so we got to this cool bridge and I was just sick of waiting for him to see it, so I—”

“—and Hinata texted me about it right on time, right?”

“What? No— wait.. Let me finish and then I’ll explain.” Hinata having wonderful timing had always been the way Kuroo knew the story. Even as confused as he looked, nothing could compare to the utter puzzlement Kuroo felt that he didn’t know their getting together story — the full version, anyway. Kenma continued, “So I texted my friend Shoyo— do you guys know Shoyo Hinata? From Brazil’s volleyball team? Anyway, I asked him to mention that I posted something to Kuroo and so Kuroo finally saw it, said yes, and that was that.”

“ _ And _ I kissed him on the bridge,” Kuroo added, looking very proud of himself.

Kenma’s face turned a light shade of pink. “Right..”

“Wait so, I thought Hinata saw your post and told me to go look — I had no idea you told him to text me.”

Kenma nodded bashfully. ‘“Kuroo, you were the only one on my close friends story. I took everyone else off because I... I didn’t want anyone else to see it in case you said no..” the streamer admitted quietly.

“ _ Ohhhh. _ . But you knew I loved you! I’d never say no!”

Kenma smiled smittenly. “I know.. Precautionary measures.”

Kuroo smiled back at him, then leaned forward against his desk to read the chat. “Did Hinata ever find out he did that for us?” he read out loud absentmindedly as his eyes skimmed the comment section.

Kenma had to think for a moment, pursing his lips. “I actually don’t remember if I told him.. Should we call him and ask?”

“It’s, what, 11am in Brazil? He’s probably up — sure, why not?”

Like he’d done it a million times — and he probably had — Kenma swiftly typed in Hinata’s number and held his phone between him and Kuroo, setting it to speaker phone.

“Kenma!!” Hinata’s voice rang out from the phone, leaving Kenma scrambling to turn down his volume. 

“Hi, Shoyo. Kuroo and I are streaming Animal Crossing now if you wanna join? I’ll send you a twitch invite?”

“And we have a question!” Kuroo cut in.

“Oh, sure! Let me just grab my switch. Hi Kuroo!”

“Hey, small fry,” Kuroo replied with a sneer that Hinata couldn’t even see. His nickname for Hinata was met with prolonged protest from the target, paired with Kenma covering his quiet laugh to not provoke Shoyo further. 

After Hinata had joined the stream and they were well into playing Animal Crossing, Kuroo changed the subject to say, “Yo, Sho _ yo. _ I have a question.”

“Sure! What is it?”

“Do you remember when you were a first year and Kenma was a second year, before we were together, and Kenma like.. asked you to text me about his Instagram story?”

Hinata hummed in thought for a moment. “Oh, right! Sure I do — Kenma never told me what that was about, now that I think of it.”

The two-toned culprit pursed his lips. “My bad.. It was because I posted something asking Kuroo to be my boyfriend.”

“Woahhh! So I was like, the messenger? That’s so  _ cool!” _ The ginger’s excitement made Kenma and Kuroo chuckle. “You know, when Kageyama asked me, it was kind of like that, too, which is even more cool!”

“When Kageyama  _ WHAT?!” _


End file.
